A century ago Wales experienced the last National Religious Revival, a revival that brought in an extra 100,000 new converts according to the estimates of the time, and a movement that quickly spread to the 4 corners of the World. Yet that great move of the Spirit had very small beginnings. Beginnings that didn’t always involve the great preachers of the day – erudite and educated as they were, but instead included, for instance a young teenager from New Quay, Cardigan – Florrie Evans – who in a youth meeting in February 1904 declared publicly that she loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart. With these words the Spirit seemed to fall on the meeting and the fire quickly spread to other young people in the Cardiganshire area.
In September of the same year, an Evangelist Seth Joshua was addressing a Convention which included these young people at Blaenanerch just 5 miles north of Cardigan. Seth himself had been praying for years that God would raise up a young man from the pits to revive the churches – little did he know that on Thursday September 29th 1904 his prayer was to be answered in a life changing experience for one 26 year old student, Evan Roberts.
For years Evan had been a faithful member of Moriah Calvinistic Methodist church at Loughor, he was a Sunday School Superintendent, a consciencious reader of the main theological works of his day, and more than that he had been praying for revival for over 11 years. Having been converted as a young teenager, he continued to pray regularly that God would visit again the nation in Revival Power. Determined to do his part, he felt compelled to go into the Calvinistic Methodist Ministry and on September 13th 1904 he became a pupil of the Newcastle Emlyn Grammar School to prepare for Trefecca Theological College.
It was only 2½ weeks after arriving that he found himself at Blaenanerch – and at a crossroads in his spiritual experience. A spiritual experience which would lead him back to the young people of his own church Moriah Loughor where he shared his experience and encouraged them to be open to God’s Spirit. Within two weeks the Welsh Revival was national news and before long, Evan Roberts and his brother Dan and his best friend Sidney were travelling the country conducting Revival Meetings and they were meetings with a difference. Meetings which broke the conventional and bi-passed the traditional – often the ministers just sat down unable to preach or even to understand what storm had arrived in their usually sedate temples.
Souls were saved, individual lives were changed and Society itself was changed.
Countless numbers of souls were saved. No records were kept of the actual number converted, but 150,000 is a very conservative estimate during the first six months.
Wales again became a God-fearing nation.
People, thousands of them, were saved. There are men and women still in our churches today whose parents or grandparents' testimonies were that they were converted in the Revival in 1904 or 1905.
Not only were individual lives changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, but whole communities were changed indeed society itself was changed - Wales was again a God-fearing nation.
Public houses became almost empty. Men and women who used to waste their money in getting drunk were now saving it, giving it to help their churches, buying clothes and food for their families. And not only drunkenness, but stealing and other offences grew less and less so that often a magistrate came to court and found there were no cases for him.
Men whose language had been filthy before learnt to talk purely. It is related that not only did the colliers put in a better day's work, but also that the pit ponies turned disobedient! The ponies were so used to being cursed and sworn at that they just didn't understand when orders were given in kind, clean words! The dark tunnels underground in the mines echoed with the sounds of prayer and hymns, instead of oaths and nasty jokes and gossip.
People who had been careless about paying their bills, or paying back money they had borrowed, paid up all they owed. People who had not been friends for a long time because of something that had happened in the past, forgot their quarrels and were happy together again. In fact, Evan Roberts used to say that there could be no blessing on anyone who had unkind thoughts about anyone else.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Great Moravian Revival
The Moravian revival of 1727 was thus preceded and then sustained by extraordinary praying. A spirit of grace, unity and supplications grew among them.
On 16 July, many of the community covenanted together on their own accord to meet often to pour out their hearts in prayer and hymns.
On 5 August, the Count spent the whole night in prayer with about twelve or fourteen others following a large meeting for prayer at midnight where great emotion prevailed.
On Sunday, 10 August, Pastor Rothe, while leading the service at Herrnhut, was overwhelmed by the power of the Lord about noon. He sank down into the dust before God. So did the whole congregation. They continued till midnight in prayer and singing, weeping and praying.
On Wednesday, 13 August, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them all. Their prayers were answered in ways far beyond anyone's expectations. Many of them decided to set aside certain times for continued earnest prayer. A Moravian historian wrote that Church history abounds in records of special outpourings of the Holy Ghost, and verily the thirteenth of August 1727, was a day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We saw the hand of God and His wonders, and we were all under the cloud of our fathers baptized with their Spirit. The Holy Ghost came upon us and in those days great signs and wonders took place in our midst. From that time scarcely a day passed but what we beheld His almighty workings amongst us. A great hunger after the Word of God took possession of us so that we had to have three services every day, viz. 5.0 and 7.30 a.m. and 9.0 p.m. Every one desired above everything else that the Holy Spirit might have full control. Selflove and self-will, as well as all disobedience disappeared and an overwhelming flood of grace swept us all out into the great ocean of Divine Love.
No one present could tell exactly what happened on that Wednesday morning, 13 August 1727 at the specially called Communion service. They hardly knew if they had been on earth or in heaven.
Count Nicholas Zinzendorf, the young leader of that community, gave this account many years later:
We needed to come to the Communion with a sense of the loving nearness of the Saviour. This was the great comfort which has made this day a generation ago to be a festival, because on this day twenty-seven years ago the Congregation of Herrnhut, assembled for communion (at the Berthelsdorf church) were all dissatisfied with themselves. They had quit judging each other because they had become convinced, each one, of his lack of worth in the sight of God and each felt himself at this Communion to be view of the noble countenance of the Saviour. O head so full of bruises, So full of pain and scorn. In this view of the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, their hearts told them that He would be their patron and their priest who was at once changing their tears into oil of gladness and their misery into happiness. This firm confidence changed them in a single moment into happy people which they are to this day, and into their happiness they have since led may thousands of others through the memory and help which the heavenly grace once given to themselves, so many thousand times confirmed to them since then .
Zinzendorf described it as 'a sense of the nearness of Christ' given to everyone present, and also to others of their community who were working elsewhere at the time.
The congregation was young. Zinzendorf, the human leader, was 27, which was about the average age of the group.
On 26 August, twentyfour men and twentyfour women covenanted together to continue praying in intervals of one hour each, day and night, each hour allocated by lots to different people.
On 27 August, this new regulation began. Others joined the intercessors and the number involved increased to seventyseven. They all carefully observed the hour which had been appointed for them. The intercessors had a weekly meeting where prayer needs were given to them.
The children, also touched powerfully by God, began a similar plan among themselves. Those who heard their infant supplications were deeply moved. The children's prayers and supplications had a powerful effect on the whole community
That astonishing prayer meeting beginning in 1727 went on for one hundred years. It was unique. Known as the Hourly Intercession, it involved relays of men and women in prayer without ceasing made to God. That prayer also led to action, especially evangelism. More than one hundred missionaries left that village community in the next twentyfive years, all constantly supported in prayer.
On 16 July, many of the community covenanted together on their own accord to meet often to pour out their hearts in prayer and hymns.
On 5 August, the Count spent the whole night in prayer with about twelve or fourteen others following a large meeting for prayer at midnight where great emotion prevailed.
On Sunday, 10 August, Pastor Rothe, while leading the service at Herrnhut, was overwhelmed by the power of the Lord about noon. He sank down into the dust before God. So did the whole congregation. They continued till midnight in prayer and singing, weeping and praying.
On Wednesday, 13 August, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them all. Their prayers were answered in ways far beyond anyone's expectations. Many of them decided to set aside certain times for continued earnest prayer. A Moravian historian wrote that Church history abounds in records of special outpourings of the Holy Ghost, and verily the thirteenth of August 1727, was a day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We saw the hand of God and His wonders, and we were all under the cloud of our fathers baptized with their Spirit. The Holy Ghost came upon us and in those days great signs and wonders took place in our midst. From that time scarcely a day passed but what we beheld His almighty workings amongst us. A great hunger after the Word of God took possession of us so that we had to have three services every day, viz. 5.0 and 7.30 a.m. and 9.0 p.m. Every one desired above everything else that the Holy Spirit might have full control. Selflove and self-will, as well as all disobedience disappeared and an overwhelming flood of grace swept us all out into the great ocean of Divine Love.
No one present could tell exactly what happened on that Wednesday morning, 13 August 1727 at the specially called Communion service. They hardly knew if they had been on earth or in heaven.
Count Nicholas Zinzendorf, the young leader of that community, gave this account many years later:
We needed to come to the Communion with a sense of the loving nearness of the Saviour. This was the great comfort which has made this day a generation ago to be a festival, because on this day twenty-seven years ago the Congregation of Herrnhut, assembled for communion (at the Berthelsdorf church) were all dissatisfied with themselves. They had quit judging each other because they had become convinced, each one, of his lack of worth in the sight of God and each felt himself at this Communion to be view of the noble countenance of the Saviour. O head so full of bruises, So full of pain and scorn. In this view of the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, their hearts told them that He would be their patron and their priest who was at once changing their tears into oil of gladness and their misery into happiness. This firm confidence changed them in a single moment into happy people which they are to this day, and into their happiness they have since led may thousands of others through the memory and help which the heavenly grace once given to themselves, so many thousand times confirmed to them since then .
Zinzendorf described it as 'a sense of the nearness of Christ' given to everyone present, and also to others of their community who were working elsewhere at the time.
The congregation was young. Zinzendorf, the human leader, was 27, which was about the average age of the group.
On 26 August, twentyfour men and twentyfour women covenanted together to continue praying in intervals of one hour each, day and night, each hour allocated by lots to different people.
On 27 August, this new regulation began. Others joined the intercessors and the number involved increased to seventyseven. They all carefully observed the hour which had been appointed for them. The intercessors had a weekly meeting where prayer needs were given to them.
The children, also touched powerfully by God, began a similar plan among themselves. Those who heard their infant supplications were deeply moved. The children's prayers and supplications had a powerful effect on the whole community
That astonishing prayer meeting beginning in 1727 went on for one hundred years. It was unique. Known as the Hourly Intercession, it involved relays of men and women in prayer without ceasing made to God. That prayer also led to action, especially evangelism. More than one hundred missionaries left that village community in the next twentyfive years, all constantly supported in prayer.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
walking on water
Creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. Water longs to be walked on again and i long to walk on water. To do the impossible, to see the impossible being done, to live a life of faith.
I don't want to just read the Bible but to live in the Bible, to see the Bible unfolding before my very eyes, the dead raised, blind see, lame walk, deaf hear, demons cast out, whole nations saved!
Jesus promised greater works and greater works i want to see. Cancer must be broken off people's lives, food must be multiplied to feed the poor and hungry. Revival must come to whole cities and nations!
Life is too short to be mundane and predictable.
I don't want to just read the Bible but to live in the Bible, to see the Bible unfolding before my very eyes, the dead raised, blind see, lame walk, deaf hear, demons cast out, whole nations saved!
Jesus promised greater works and greater works i want to see. Cancer must be broken off people's lives, food must be multiplied to feed the poor and hungry. Revival must come to whole cities and nations!
Life is too short to be mundane and predictable.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
4 Keys to Empowering Youth To Move In The Supernatural
By Ps Banning Liebscher
Many pastors long to see their youth and young adults walk in power, healing and the prophetic, especially outside the church. No longer satisfied to build traditional youth ministries, they are stirred to impact their cities and regions. They long to see nearby campuses saturated in God’s glory, lives surrendered to Jesus and a culture reflecting the kingdom of God. For this vision to become a reality, however, they usually need a different set of tools. That’s why one of the most frequent questions I get from youth pastors is: “How can I release the supernatural in my ministry?”
In Matthew 5:16, Jesus makes it clear that one of the main keys to seeing God’s glory invade a city is a people shining their light—o those around encounter their works. That word works isn’t referring to everyday deeds, but rather what Jesus demonstrated throughout His ministry as the sick were healed, dead raised, lame walked and blind received sight. As we manifest God’s
power by laying hands on the diseased, prophesying over the broken and radically loving the lonely, our light will blaze through the darkness.
If we’re going to empower young people to transform cities and campuses for Jesus, our methods must move beyond holding events to equipping lifestyles. As grateful as I am for the testimonies of the supernatural at our conferences, I’m only truly satisfied when I see these encounters multiply in and through the lives of the attendees when they return home. Though we’re still learning every day how to do this, here are a few keys we’ve discovered along the way that are especially pertinent to pastors.
1. Demonstrate God’s extravagant love. Healing, prophetic ministry, and signs and wonders are all extremely exhilarating. It’s an amazing experience when you lay hands on someone with scoliosis and watch as his back literally straightens out. As healings and prophecy begin to flow, however, it’s just as crucial that we contend for love toremain the core reason and motivation for ministering in power. Galatians 5:6 tells us that faith works through love. Faith to demonstrate the power of God flows through love. The kingdom we represent is founded in love, and we are called to display it not only in word, but also in power (see 1 Cor. 4:20). Signs and wonders are to point people toward a greater reality: the extravagant love of God. If we don’t equip our youth and young adults to ground their walk in love, healing becomes just another fad that’s temporarily fun, but with no lasting effect.
2. Teach that the anointing is for everyone. Whether your spiritual hero is John G. Lake, Oral Roberts or Kathryn Kuhlman, know that that same level of anointing is available to all who are hungry for it. My senior pastor, Bill Johnson, describes it this way: “God gives certain individuals a ‘spike’ in human experience, not so they can merely gather people around themselves to minister to them, but that they would be positioned with favor to equip the saints, so that their ‘high point’ becomes the new norm.” The anointing is available for everyone—young and old, extrovert and introvert, new and mature Christian. And as pastors, it’s a matter of nurturing that anointing when we ...
3. Make room. Our young people must be given the opportunity to step out in the anointing. Whether it’s having them pray for one another during a meeting or on their campuses, they need frequent opportunities to experience this reality. At our church we intentionally make room for the supernatural. In every service we pray for the sick and expect miracles. We have this same focus with the youth ministry, where my leaders and I model it and do it with the youth. We regularly give part of every meeting for words of knowledge, healing prayer, prophetic opportunities, etc.
I encourage you to reassess your agenda and rearrange your schedule to offer as many occasions as possible for your young people to lay hands on those in need of a physical healing. The more you make room for it in their lives, the more it will happen naturally elsewhere and become a lifestyle.
4. Develop a culture of risk. Recently a group of university students were frustrated by their lack of breakthroughs in seeing healing. These young adults were passionately “pressing in” to see healing, but never actually “stepping out” to pray for people. They were crying out for God to move—but they weren’t moving! Their mindset was one I see frequently: “If we persevere long enough in prayer, God’s anointing will surely fall from heaven and we’ll obtain results.” Although I firmly believe we need to reach for a greater anointing, we each have an anointing to minister supernaturally available right now. But it requires us to position ourselves to take risks. When you’re faithful with what you currently have, the Lord entrusts you with more. As leaders we are responsible for nurturing a ministry environment that both encourages and necessitates risk. In the midst of their insecurities, students thrive when we come alongside and call out the greatness in them as they take risks in the supernatural. If we expect young people to take such risks outside the walls of the church, we must give them opportunities inside the church to develop. And as they learn to venture out within in a safe environment, their
confidence grows in public.
For example, train your young people in healing and the prophetic, and then push them to give words of knowledge or prophesy over their peers. When someone needs healing, ask your students to pray for the person. They might be scared and nervous, but stand with them and champion their courage.
You’ll likely find that many are afraid to fail. This is one of the main reasons why many youth and young adults never see God’s power demonstrated in their lives. They are frozen by the thought, “What if I step out and nothing happens?” This fear must be overcome. Strengthen them to conquer this fear.
Many times the results we seek are on the other side of persistence. I’ve heard that John Wimber prayed for 1,000 people before he saw his first breakthrough in healing. The more young people take risks and God shows up in answer to their prayers, the more they will mature into expressing a supernatural lifestyle.
Banning Liebscher is the director of Jesus Culture, Youth Ministry of Bethel Church at Redding, California, along with his wife, SeaJay.
Many pastors long to see their youth and young adults walk in power, healing and the prophetic, especially outside the church. No longer satisfied to build traditional youth ministries, they are stirred to impact their cities and regions. They long to see nearby campuses saturated in God’s glory, lives surrendered to Jesus and a culture reflecting the kingdom of God. For this vision to become a reality, however, they usually need a different set of tools. That’s why one of the most frequent questions I get from youth pastors is: “How can I release the supernatural in my ministry?”
In Matthew 5:16, Jesus makes it clear that one of the main keys to seeing God’s glory invade a city is a people shining their light—o those around encounter their works. That word works isn’t referring to everyday deeds, but rather what Jesus demonstrated throughout His ministry as the sick were healed, dead raised, lame walked and blind received sight. As we manifest God’s
power by laying hands on the diseased, prophesying over the broken and radically loving the lonely, our light will blaze through the darkness.
If we’re going to empower young people to transform cities and campuses for Jesus, our methods must move beyond holding events to equipping lifestyles. As grateful as I am for the testimonies of the supernatural at our conferences, I’m only truly satisfied when I see these encounters multiply in and through the lives of the attendees when they return home. Though we’re still learning every day how to do this, here are a few keys we’ve discovered along the way that are especially pertinent to pastors.
1. Demonstrate God’s extravagant love. Healing, prophetic ministry, and signs and wonders are all extremely exhilarating. It’s an amazing experience when you lay hands on someone with scoliosis and watch as his back literally straightens out. As healings and prophecy begin to flow, however, it’s just as crucial that we contend for love toremain the core reason and motivation for ministering in power. Galatians 5:6 tells us that faith works through love. Faith to demonstrate the power of God flows through love. The kingdom we represent is founded in love, and we are called to display it not only in word, but also in power (see 1 Cor. 4:20). Signs and wonders are to point people toward a greater reality: the extravagant love of God. If we don’t equip our youth and young adults to ground their walk in love, healing becomes just another fad that’s temporarily fun, but with no lasting effect.
2. Teach that the anointing is for everyone. Whether your spiritual hero is John G. Lake, Oral Roberts or Kathryn Kuhlman, know that that same level of anointing is available to all who are hungry for it. My senior pastor, Bill Johnson, describes it this way: “God gives certain individuals a ‘spike’ in human experience, not so they can merely gather people around themselves to minister to them, but that they would be positioned with favor to equip the saints, so that their ‘high point’ becomes the new norm.” The anointing is available for everyone—young and old, extrovert and introvert, new and mature Christian. And as pastors, it’s a matter of nurturing that anointing when we ...
3. Make room. Our young people must be given the opportunity to step out in the anointing. Whether it’s having them pray for one another during a meeting or on their campuses, they need frequent opportunities to experience this reality. At our church we intentionally make room for the supernatural. In every service we pray for the sick and expect miracles. We have this same focus with the youth ministry, where my leaders and I model it and do it with the youth. We regularly give part of every meeting for words of knowledge, healing prayer, prophetic opportunities, etc.
I encourage you to reassess your agenda and rearrange your schedule to offer as many occasions as possible for your young people to lay hands on those in need of a physical healing. The more you make room for it in their lives, the more it will happen naturally elsewhere and become a lifestyle.
4. Develop a culture of risk. Recently a group of university students were frustrated by their lack of breakthroughs in seeing healing. These young adults were passionately “pressing in” to see healing, but never actually “stepping out” to pray for people. They were crying out for God to move—but they weren’t moving! Their mindset was one I see frequently: “If we persevere long enough in prayer, God’s anointing will surely fall from heaven and we’ll obtain results.” Although I firmly believe we need to reach for a greater anointing, we each have an anointing to minister supernaturally available right now. But it requires us to position ourselves to take risks. When you’re faithful with what you currently have, the Lord entrusts you with more. As leaders we are responsible for nurturing a ministry environment that both encourages and necessitates risk. In the midst of their insecurities, students thrive when we come alongside and call out the greatness in them as they take risks in the supernatural. If we expect young people to take such risks outside the walls of the church, we must give them opportunities inside the church to develop. And as they learn to venture out within in a safe environment, their
confidence grows in public.
For example, train your young people in healing and the prophetic, and then push them to give words of knowledge or prophesy over their peers. When someone needs healing, ask your students to pray for the person. They might be scared and nervous, but stand with them and champion their courage.
You’ll likely find that many are afraid to fail. This is one of the main reasons why many youth and young adults never see God’s power demonstrated in their lives. They are frozen by the thought, “What if I step out and nothing happens?” This fear must be overcome. Strengthen them to conquer this fear.
Many times the results we seek are on the other side of persistence. I’ve heard that John Wimber prayed for 1,000 people before he saw his first breakthrough in healing. The more young people take risks and God shows up in answer to their prayers, the more they will mature into expressing a supernatural lifestyle.
Banning Liebscher is the director of Jesus Culture, Youth Ministry of Bethel Church at Redding, California, along with his wife, SeaJay.
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